By Christina Widner

Everyone who uses the Internet a lot has probably read a negative comment or two at some time or other. It’s a commonly known phenomenon that people are much more likely to make negative comments when they’re online – regardless of whether their criticism is justified or not. Dealing with negative comments on social media platforms poses a challenge for many companies: how to handle criticism correctly. However, by responding rapidly and effectively to complaints, firms have an opportunity to create a bond with their clients. That’s why we’d like to show you just how important crisis communication on social media channels is and the options that companies have at their disposal when it comes to dealing with negative comments.

Being well prepared is the key to success

The term “crisis management” describes the way companies respond to unexpected negative comments and reactions that may damage their reputation and harm their business – because adverse criticism often spreads a lot faster than positive remarks do. And if companies don’t proactively respond to it, then any criticism can rapidly spread. Now if anyone is thinking that everything was better before social media as negative reactions weren’t able to disseminate so fast, then that person is unable to see the opportunity that goes hand in hand with them. For a rapid and constructive reaction can make a good impression on potential clients.

The first and most vital step in successful crisis communication is the groundwork the companies should do even before any negative comments appear, i.e. they should draw up a crisis communication plan, think about guidelines for monitoring social media channels, and clearly allocate responsibilities within their team. Such a plan can help to deal with crisis situations in a fast and coordinated manner.

Always keep an eye on social media channels

The ongoing monitoring of social media channels is a key factor in recognising potential crises at an early stage. Special tools such as Hootsuite or Meltwater can help you monitor brand mentions, hashtags and relevant key words.

When negative comments are actually identified, a rapid response is paramount. Such a response not only shows that the company is alert and striving to find solutions, but it also prevents the negative mood from spreading even further.

The challenge for many enterprises is this: what if you’re on all the existing platforms and you just don’t have enough time and staff? In that case, companies should consider whether it really makes good sense for them to be present on all the social media platforms. Where is your target group and in which social media channels can you really reach your customers? Limiting yourself to a few platforms that you can really manage effectively makes more sense, especially for SMEs.

Keep it real!

When dealing with negative comments, what is of vital importance is ensuring that your communication remains sincere and transparent. Standardised or evasive answers can often aggravate the problem. Rather, companies should try to respond to individual concerns and, if possible, offer solutions or compensation. This demonstrates empathy and a sense of responsibility and can help to restore public trust in the company.

And the most important thing of all is that you should never become abusive or criticise the commentator in return. Even if unjustified criticism is unpleasant, the response should never be facetious. So before you write an inappropriate reply, you should take a deep breath and not let the criticism get to you personally.

Learning from crisis communication

After a crisis has been surmounted, what’s imperative is that firms should learn from the experience. Companies should analyse the effectiveness of their reaction, the strategies that worked and where there is still room for improvement. That will help them to react to negative comments even more effectively in the future.

And who knows? Comments that were at first negative might lead to a helpful discussion, and supposed “haters” might become customers who, because of a good response from the company, feel they are linked to it.

The upshot? Good crisis communication can make a company strong

Dealing with negative comments on social media channels is a challenge that, nevertheless, offers firms a good opportunity to demonstrate their strengths and professionalism. With good groundwork, rapid reactions, authenticity and constantly learning from experience, companies can fine tune their crisis communication and so uphold their reputation and maintain their relationship with the general public – even in difficult times.

About the author

BASIC thinking is an online magazine and one of the widest-reach tech portals in the German-speaking world. The editorial team reports daily on social media, marketing and business topics. This article was written by Christina Widner from BASIC thinking GmbH and BASIC thinking International.